On Wednesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said that he would consider putting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in charge of one of the major federal health agencies, should he be elected president. Kennedy is running in the 2024 election as a Democrat, but his views on vaccine safety align with those of far-right officials.
Kennedy, though a long shot for the Democratic nomination, has been increasingly touted by Republicans for his stances on certain social and political issues. Even presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has praised him as a “very smart person.”
DeSantis and Kennedy have both voiced concerns about vaccine mandates and federal lockdowns. Kennedy recently claimed that the virus was engineered to target “Caucasians and Black people” and DeSantis has suggested that the pandemic protocols were too “woke.”
During an interview with Clay Travis, DeSantis that he would possibly appoint Kennedy to oversee the Food and Drug Administration or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“If you’re president, sic him on the FDA if he’d be willing to serve. Or sic him on the CDC,” said DeSantis about Kennedy on Wednesday.
Travis asked if DeSantis would think about putting Kennedy on his ticket as vice president, but he said that it would be bad for his conservative image.
“In terms of being veep, there’s 70% of the issues that he may be averse to our base on, you know, that just creates an issue.”
When asked about a potential running mate in the past, DeSantis claimed that it was too early to think about who it may be.
